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Carefully designed drip legs enable steam traps to

properly drain condensate from mains


stream as it forms on pipe walls. These water able to use a steam separator to provide flow
droplets are carried along, mixed with steam, reduction, and drain with an adequate drip
at velocities that can exceed 100 mph. To sep- leg.
arate the condensate from high-velocity If condensate accumulates in the flowing
steam, the drip leg must be large enough to steam, it reduces steam quality. This reduces
provide expansion in the flow area, reducing the amount of heat transferred from the steam
gas velocity and allowing condensate to drop delivered downstream and increases operat-
out. If the drip leg is not large enough, the ing costs. The erosive force of condensate
pressure drop created at the interface of the droplets being whipped along at 100 mph is
steam line and the drip leg draws condensate roughly analogous to a major hurricane. As
out of the drip leg and steam trap. In applica- pipe walls and heat exchanger surfaces are
tions where dry steam is essential, it is prefer- eroded by the water blast, they begin to leak
or fail. Control valves, ends of mains, and
Recommended Steam Main and expansion loops also become eroded and
Branch Line Drip Leg Sizing eventually fail when subjected to these forces.

M D H Drip Leg Design


-- ~ ,: Oflfi~C~g:~r;~nQth_,-;:-_-~J~~, :J.J1-~: Given these three flow dynamics, it is
Steam Main Drip '-~g Supervi$ed Automatic · obvious that, to be effective, a drip leg must
Size, in.··.. Dic:tmeter, in. Warlll-Up Warm-.Up be as carefully designed as the rest of the
steam system. Following a few simple sizing
~ 10 28 guidelines enables the steam trap to drain
% 10 28 condensate from the main throughout the
1 10 28 operating cycle of any steam system.
2 2 10 28 In general, for steam mains up to 4 in. in
10 28
diameter, the drip leg should be constructed
3 3
from the same size pipe as the main. For
4 4 10 28 steam mains larger than 4 in., the drip leg
6 4 10 28 should be half the diameter of the main but
8 4 12 28 never less than 4 in. The distance from the
10 6 15 28 bottom of the main to the top of the trap, in
12 6 18 28 inches, divided by 28 yields the amount of sta-
14 8 21 28 tic head, in psi, available to push condensate
Fig. 4. Drip legs 16 8 24 28 through the trap on startup. The accompany-
must be large 18 10 27 28 ing table gives recommendations for sizing of
enough to allow 20 10 30 30 steam mains and branch drip legs when the
condensate to drop trap discharges to a gravity return.
out of the stream at 24 12 36 36 On automatic startup, when return lines are
the pipe bottom. elevated or pressurized, special precautions
should be taken to prevent flooding. The best
method is to collect the trap discharge in a
Effect Of Drip Leg Size nonpressurized receiver and use a pump or a
pumping trap to raise condensate or overcome
back pressure.
The best way to trap drip legs is by using an
inverted bucket (LB.) steam trap. This trap
effectively handles accumulations of dirt and
slugs of condensate. The I.B. trap drains con-
densate as it forms, has low maintenance
requirements, and has a long operating life. If
the trap does fail, it usually fails open, pre-
cluding system flooding and dangerous water
hammer.

Reprinted from PLANT ENGINEERING September 9, 1993


© 1993 by CAHNERS PUBLISHING COMPANY
Eliminating Condensate Pools
preferably beyond the point of change in Right
direction, at the end of mains, ahead of expan-
sion joints or bends, and ahead of valves or
regulators.
After choosing the proper location, drip
legs must be designed so condensate freely
enters throughout the operating cycle of the
system. During normal operation, any steam
system is subject to one or more conditions
that must be taken into account in the sizing Eccentric Reducer Coupling
of drip legs to avoid problems.

Startup Conditions
During startup, high condensate loads are
created when steam condenses after encoun-
tering cool piping and equipment. At the same
time, the high condensing rate leaves little
steam pressure in the piping. If the system is
well designed, gravity pulls condensate into
the drip leg. On supervised startups, a valve is Concentric Reducer Coupling
manually opened to drain and gravity alone is
adequate to drain condensate.
On automatic startups, however, there may sate stream is allowed to build to sufficient Fig. 2. An eccentric reduc-
not be sufficient differential pressure to pro- levels in the pipe, waves are formed on the er precludes the forming of
vide flow through a steam trap orifice. In surface by gases passing above at a relatively a condensate pool that can
these cases, the drip leg must be sufficiently high velocity. These waves can rise and block form behind a concentric
long to provide the necessary static head the entire pipe. With system pressure reducer.
(dimension H, Fig. 3) to push condensate upstream of this slug, and collapsing steam
through the trap. downstream, the slug is accelerated in the
There are applications where condensate pipe and can reach velocities as high as 90
must be lifted. The drip leg must provide mph. A great deal of damage can be done to
ample volume for water to accumulate until piping and equipment when a slug is forced to
there is sufficient pressure to elevate conden- stop or change direction. Fig. 3. Typical trap-drain-
sate to the level of the return (about 1 psi for ing drip leg is installed on
every 2 ft of lift). Entrained Flow Conditions steam main. Values forM, D,
If the system is not properly drained, it In low-load, high-velocity service, most of and H are provided in the
takes an excessive amount of time to reach the condensate is picked up by the passing gas table on the next page.
operating temperature, increasing operating
costs. Insufficient drainage during startup can
result in live steam being injected into pock- Trap Draining Drip Leg
ets of cool condensate, creating thermal
shock, a form of water hammer.

Perimeter Flow Conditions


With relatively large condensate loads and
lower velocities, commonly found in low
pressure, modulated heating systems or
upstream of any control valves, condensate
flow usually takes place on inside pipe walls.
Stearn constantly condenses on the wall of the
t
H
pipe and flows by gravity to the bottom where
it forms a stream that is pushed along by the
forces of gravity and friction with gas flowing
over its surface. The drip leg must be sized so
the entire stream is drained away as it flows
J
over the top of the opening. Partial drainage
is likely when the common practice of "hot
tapping" a small pipe into the steam main is
used to provide a drip leg (Fig. 4).
As the condensate stream flows past each
drip station, it accumulates and robs the pipe
of steam space and the steam of some of its
heat, increasing operating cost. If the conden-
Engine~~fnnJ FLUID HANDLING/MAINTENANCE

Small Drip Legs


Cause Big Problems
Correct sizing eliminates water hammer,
pipe erosion, and long startup times

THOMAS J. GRUBKA, Senior Application Engineer, Armstrong International, Inc., Three Rivers, MI

t first glance it would seem that creat- Piping, "Suitable drains or drips shall be pro-

A ing a drip leg is simply a matter of con-


necting piping or equipment to a cor-
rectly sized steam trap. But, an analysis of the
vided wherever necessary to drain the con-
densate from all sections of the piping and
equipment where it may collect. ... " Taking a
few simple precautions when laying out steam
varying conditions inside a steam system
reveals that the location and sizing of drip legs lines minimizes the number of collection
are much more complex than first meets the points.
eye. • Ensure that steam mains are well support-
Condensate moves in a combination of ed. This is one of the most important, but
ways, depending on the type of system under often overlooked, precautions. A pocket of
consideration. At startup, low pressure and a condensate can be trapped in a section of
relatively high load create a gravity flow con- main that is sagging due to insufficient sup-
dition. High condensate loads, combined with port (Fig. 1).
moderate steam velocities, cause condensate • Use eccentric fittings to provide a contin-
to flow along the perimeter of piping. Under uous path along the bottom of distribution
high-velocity, low-load conditions, conden- piping (Fig. 2).
sate actually becomes entrained in steam. • Pitch steam mains down, in the direction
Drip legs must be located and designed to of flow, not less than 1 in. for every 20 ft of
remove condensate from steam lines through- run.
out the operation cycle, regardless of conden- • Always trap each drip leg with a separate
sate flow conditions. trap. Even the slight pressure drop found
Many problems mistakenly thought of as between two adjacent drip legs is enough to
inevitable in the operation of a "typical" short circuit the system.
steam system are avoidable. Occurrences such • Properly insulate piping to minimize the
as water hammer, steam leaks resulting from amount of condensate generated in a distrib-
pipe erosion, short equipment life, reduced ution line.
heat transfer, and long startup times are often Along with these general precautions, there
reduced or eliminated by the proper place- are several specific recommendations that
ment and sizing of drip legs. should be followed for the proper placement
of drip legs. Drip legs should be located at
Drip Leg Location about 300-ft intervals along steam mains, and
According to Section I, Paragraph 118 (a) never at intervals greater that 500ft. In addi-
of the American Standard Code for Pressure tion, drip legs should be placed at risers,

Fig. 1. Condensate collects


in low areas that are created Sag In Steam Supply Main
by the sagging ofpoorly sup-
ported piping.

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Water Pocket

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